How to Write a Research Proposal in Economics The Only Manual You Are Going to Need

How to Write a Research Proposal in Economics The Only Manual You Are Going to Need The majority of their time in university undergraduate students are limited to consuming the existing empirical research. However, eventually (usually during the senior year), most academic programs give them the task of producing their original work. Many students struggle with this transition, because until that moment they have been studying a different skillset than the one necessary for independent research. A research proposal performs the role of a gateway – it sums up the nature of proposed research, describes its context and details the existing knowledge on the subject. It is relatively short and does not take much time to write – therefore, students get the chance of analyzing the subject matter and their intended research before they commit to work on it. A research proposal prevents you from taking up an unpromising direction, because you will discover the associated difficulties early on, before you have time to get too deep into it. The fact that your res earch needs to be approved by a member of the college’s faculty means you will not waste time and resources. The standards and requirements for research proposals are not set in stone – there is a lot of variety depending on the discipline, school, year of study, program and personal preferences of your supervisor. What we describe in this article refers to the typical structure and guidelines for research proposals in Economics – your college may have different requirements, so make sure you study them carefully. Nevertheless, here you will find the general information you can easily extrapolate. Choosing a Topic for Your Economics Research Proposal – What You Should Know 1. Choose Something That Fascinates You Choosing the topic of your first real research project is a very important step. In Economics, it often determines the general direction of your entire future career. This means that you have to be careful to select something you will be comfortable working on not just for the duration of this project, but for years to come. Even within the confines of an individual project, after you have to redraft it for the nth time, you will feel less enthusiasm than when you began. It is worth having more excitement to begin with. 2. Study the Literature Choose a general direction you are interested in, and dive into all the literature on it you can find. It can take some time, but again, choosing a topic for a long-term research project isn’t something you should do in a hurry. Use academic databases and search engines, both multidisciplinary (Academic Search, BASE, CORE, etc.) end economics-focused (EconBiz, EconLit). Run searches using the keywords related to the general area of your area of interest, and you will find plenty of sources to work with. Study them for some time, and you will discover a gap in the knowledge or an understudied subject. Alternatively, many papers indicate subjects that require further research – check if somebody already did it, and if not, you can do it yourself. 3. Find Somebody to Bounce Your Ideas Off It may be your supervisor or another person knowledgeable in the Economics. Suggest topics to him/her for consideration and gauge the reaction. If you choose this person well, he/she will help you find an optimal direction for research without imposing his/her point of view on you: by asking questions, pointing out flaws in your reasoning or suggesting what literature you should read. 4. Take an Issue Arising from Your Previous Work If in your previous research work you stumbled on issues that looked promising and interesting but were too peripheral for the subject of your paper, now may be the time to look into them. For example, you have been studying the practices applied in the expansion of a particular business overseas, and encountered a culture-related difficulty this company had to deal with. You may want to return to it and study it on a deeper level. 5. Think on an Interdisciplinary Level Many supervisors like the idea of expanding the research beyond the boundaries of a specific discipline. Try to think about your area of interest in relation to other academic disciplines. For example, you study the influence of immigration on the development of small businesses. You can try studying this issue in conjunction with education (how to deal with the need of hiring employees who studied in a different educational system or didn’t get organized schooling at all), ecology (how to make sure businesses hiring immigrants comply with environmental regulations), sociology (the role of small businesses in providing upward social mobility among the immigrants), etc. Here are some examples of topics you can come up with this way: Social Responsibility among Businesses and Its Effect on Profitability among Tech Startups; The Influence of Climate Change on Real Estate Market in the United States; Positive and Negative Effects of Flexible Work Hours and Work Autonomy on Work/Family Balance among Employees; Comparing the Share of Women in the Tech Sector in India and the USA: Successful Strategies for Diversity; The Role of Ethnic Minority Entrepreneurs in Multi-Ethnic Neighborhoods in New York. Preparing a Research Proposal in Economics: General Principles Although the specific requirements to your research proposal can be significantly different and depend on many different factors, some principles remain the same, no matter which school you attend. 1. It Should Answer 3 Questions They are as follows: What you are going to research; Why you think this topic is worthy of research; How you propose to perform the research. 2. It Should Be Straightforward The goal of a proposal is to carry your message through. Therefore: Don’t embellish your text, write in a simple and matter-of-fact manner; Eliminate all unnecessary words and sentences; Don’t waste time leading up to the subject of your research. Get down to business right away. You may spend a couple of sentences delineating the context, but then state directly what you are going to research, e.g., â€Å"This study will examine the share of women coders in British tech startups†; Avoid ambiguities. Your goal is not to create a work of art, but to be understood. Don’t be afraid to use the same word multiple times if clarity calls for it. This means that if you are talking about an ethnic minority, keep calling the group this way throughout the text, don’t try to replace the term with â€Å"people of foreign descent† or something else. 3. It Should Be Carefully Organized The exact structure may differ, but you should include all the sections your college’s guidelines suggest, accompanied with the necessary headings and subheadings. 4. It Should Point out the Innovativeness of Research Your proposal should make it obvious which parts of what you say constitute the existing knowledge on the subject and the context of research and which are innovative. 5. It Should Follow the Guidelines Whatever recommendations you find in this guide or elsewhere on the Internet, your college’s guidelines trump them. Even such a basic requirement as the word limit can differ wildly depending on the course. Even within a single university, it may range from 300 to 2000 words. Writing a Research Proposal in Economics: A Typical Structure 1. Introduction It is the â€Å"Why?† part of your proposal. Begin with clearly stating the central issue or question your research project will try to answer. Alternatively, you can express the primary claim or idea you intend to prove. Explain why you have decided to research your subject and why you believe it to be important. Remember, however, that Economics is a practical and down-to-earth discipline. Try to avoid making your proposal fully descriptive – no matter how interesting and innovative your ideas are, you should try to look for practical implications and cause-and-effect explanations. If the subject of your proposal is not fully innovative and has been broadly covered in literature, point out what makes your research different from the existing works on the topic. Prove that you are doing something new, not just rehash the research carried out by others. You can optionally cover two other things in this section: Project feasibility. Any research has associated costs and expenses. Prove why you believe the potential outcome to be worthy of the resources spent on it. It isn’t usually an issue, but you have to mention it if you have a reason to believe it to become a problem; Project limitations. Try to maintain a reasonable balance between ambition and viability. 2. Current State of the Field This section puts your research into context. Give a short and to the point description of the existing body of knowledge on the subject. You may want to: Summarize what is known on the subject and what points most researchers agree upon; Mention what important issues have already been studied by the scholars on the subject; List the major points of contention between the experts on the subject. What schools of thought are dominant, why they disagree, what alternative viewpoints exist? Point out methodological problems associated with the subject; Provide criticism of the existing research or offer viable new venues of investigation; Define what is not yet known and how you intend to build upon the existing works in the field. 3. Project Description It is the â€Å"What?† part of the proposal. Suggest a theory answering or explaining the issue you have stated in the beginning. At this point, you do not have to provide a detailed proof of why you believe it to be true – remember, you write a research proposal, not describe the research you have already carried out. If you can find enough information in high-authority information sources to justify your idea, it will be enough. You will have plenty of time over the course of the project to modify or even change the original theory based on your findings. Also, establish the primary terminology you are going to use across your research. Try to stick to the terms commonly used in Economics and avoid ambiguity. 4. Research Design/Methodology It is the â€Å"How?† part of the proposal. Describe all the operations, tools and techniques (questionnaires, interviews, modeling, text analysis, etc.) you are going to use and explain why you believe them to be the best choice. List all the data and source material you intend to use and how you will gather and analyze them. Are there any practical considerations to consider (e.g., financial expenses, necessary resources, facilities, equipment)? Do you have the relevant skills and proficiencies to successfully use the methods you propose? 5. Conclusion Provide a short summary of everything you have said up to this point. Refer to the original question, repeat your proposed solution or claim, suggest what the result of your project will be and what impact it will have on the field of study, the Economic studies and related disciplines. 6. Bibliography Provide the list of all the information sources you intend to use as the context for your research with full citations. Try to make it comprehensive, including both recent and classic works on the subject. Also, don’t try to include all literature on the subject in general – if you discover new sources in the course of your research, you will be able to use them. Right now, your goal is to show that you are well-grounded in the existing research on the subject. Why Proposals Get Rejected: Check if Yours Falls under These Criteria Finally, you should analyze what you have written and be honest with yourself. Is it really the research you want to do? Is it good enough? Is it persuasive? Here are some of the most common reasons why research proposals get rejected, so that you can see if yours falls under these descriptions: The problem is insignificant. The issue you have chosen lacks importance, and the research is unlikely to produce new or useful results; Methods don’t correlate with the stated objective of the research; The researcher lacks sufficient expertise to do the research; The proposed approach is too vague and unclear to be properly evaluated; The researcher is not familiar with the relevant findings and research in the study field. We hope that having this guide at hand will greatly improve your chances of successfully preparing your research proposal and getting it accepted.

Use of the Apostrophe in Possessive Constructions

Use of the Apostrophe in Possessive Constructions Use of the Apostrophe in Possessive Constructions Use of the Apostrophe in Possessive Constructions By Mark Nichol This post outlines the prevailing rules and recommendations for employing apostrophes when using the possessive form of a noun and discusses in which cases an s should follow the apostrophe. Apostrophes are used to indicate singular possession, as in â€Å"The dog’s collar is too tight,† and plural possession, as in â€Å"Several of our neighbors’ cars were vandalized.† When referring to two or more people collectively, use an apostrophe only after the last noun or name: â€Å"John and Jane’s daughter is going off to college.† When referring to two or more people separately, employ apostrophes for each noun or name: â€Å"My doctor’s and dentist’s names are the same.† Some style handbooks recommend using only an apostrophe after singular nouns and proper names ending in s, as in â€Å"The witness’ last statement is puzzling† and â€Å"He is among the most eccentric of Dickens’ characters,† but this style is prevalent primarily in journalistic writing, and most style guides call for an additional s: â€Å"The witness’s last statement is puzzling† and â€Å"He is among the most eccentric of Dickens’s characters.† However, plural possessive forms of surnames should be treated as in â€Å"The Smiths’ house is the third one on the right.† (Plural possessive forms of names ending in s are treated as in â€Å"We had dinner at the Thomases’ house.†) An exception used to be made for words and names ending in an unpronounced s as well as biblical or classical names ending in s, but now it is recommended that these be supplied with an additional s; examples include the names in â€Å"Descartes’s treatise† and â€Å"Jesus’s followers.† However, when the singular and plural forms of a noun are the same, omit the final s, as in â€Å"The species’ distinguishing characteristics are listed below.† When the name of an entity such as a city ends in s but is singular, likewise, use an apostrophe only: â€Å"Construction of El Dorado Hills’ new community center is underway.† If such conflicting usage seems awkward, avoid the possessive form; instead, write â€Å"The distinguishing characteristics of the species are listed below† and â€Å"Construction of the new community center in El Dorado Hills is underway.† When using an idiom beginning with for and ending in sake, such as â€Å"for goodness’ sake,† omit the final s. Apostrophes are also used in the genitive case, in expressions such as â€Å"two weeks’ notice,† and in possessive forms that resemble the attributive use of a noun (that is, a noun modifying another noun), such as â€Å"farmers’ market,† meaning â€Å"a market belonging to farmers.† Some people choose to style such phrases attributively (â€Å"farmers market,† meaning â€Å"a market of farmers†), but such use is best reserved only for proper names (for example, â€Å"the Department of Veterans Affairs†). When a gerund follows a noun, the noun should be treated possessively, as in â€Å"Doctors’ prescribing such medication is problematic,† meaning â€Å"The habit among doctors of prescribing such medication is problematic,† but perhaps it is better to simply use the alternative wording. The possessive form of a noun that follows a preposition, however, is optional; one may write either â€Å"They knew about their supervisor’s spying on them† or â€Å"They knew about their supervisor spying on them,† but this, too, is perhaps better revised to â€Å"They knew that their supervisor was spying on them.† Italicized publication and book titles should be followed by an nonitalicized apostrophe and s, as in â€Å"People’s cover story† and â€Å"War and Peace’s formidable length,† though periodical titles ending in s should be followed by an apostrophe only, as in â€Å"the Los Angeles Times’ subscription data.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Punctuation category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:36 Adjectives Describing LightAwoken or Awakened?Narrative, Plot, and Story

NEC3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

NEC3 - Essay Example New Engineering Contracts 3rd Edition or NEC3 is a modernistic family of contracts of contracts. It helps in implementing construction project management and supervisory principles. NEC3 synchronises the different business and engineering practices and also renders definitions for the different legal relationships and liabilities. Hence, adoption of NEC3 family of contracts culminates at an altogether cultural transformation of a construction company and its different construction project sites and subsidiaries. According to New Engineering Contract (2005), the principal feature of this cultural transformation is the complete abandonment of a hindsight dependent reactive management paradigm. NEC3 helps the construction company and its various contractors to embark on a foresight based proactive management mechanism with clearly defined contracting rules and regulations that are fair towards both the employers and the contracting agencies. The Office of Government Commerce (OGC) has endorsed NEC3 as a family of contracts that can satisfy the contemporary Achieving Excellence in Construction (AEC) principles (New Engineering Contracts, 2005). This implies that NEC3 is compliant with the most recent government regulations laid down by the 21st century legal developments of UK. In this context, NEC3 contracts can be synchronised with the regulations such as Utilities Contracts Regulations (2006) too (Ashworth, 2011; Close, 2011). OGC has recommended the use of NEC3 family of contracts by the public sector procurers on their construction projects for the sake of authenticity and complexity issues. So it can be further deduced that NEC3 has been recommended by OGC as a compact and unitary engineering contracts mechanism. This is not the case with JCT2011. JCT contracts (as devised by the Joint Contacts Tribunal Limited,

God In You Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

God In You - Essay Example Dreams illuminate our lives; however, the peaks are higher than the imagination. Jeremiah feels a great joy to participate in God’s work in the hearts and lives of people. God keeps his servants humble and saves them from temptation and self-centeredness. The devotion should be continuous and constant. The commitment is for life; and our dreams should be greater than our memories. When disciples worry about the future and ask to see the Father, Jesus answers that the Father dwells in Him and He is acting on his behalf. Jesus told his disciples that all his words, the miracles he accomplished and all deeds are God’s actions, not His. Jesus Explains that his presence is not necessary, God’s work will continue and that they may even have greater accomplishment than Him. He urges them to look in the future and not look back. Even though Jesus’ hint that his disciples can do greater work may be blasphemous, he invokes their beliefs and faith. In fact, the promi se of doing greater work is linked to the coming of the Holy Spirit. However, Jesus had to leave for the Holy Spirit to come, which he clearly explained to his disciples. Therefore Jesus’ crucifixion, then ascension, was followed by the pouring of the Holy Spirit that becomes the third part of the Trinity. Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, â€Å"Rulers of the people and elders of Israel: If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well, let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole† (NKJV, Acts 4: 8-10). Jesus advocates the importance of the spiritual over the material and the eternal over the temporal. â€Å"Then Jesus, being filled with the

Essay example --

Digital library refers to an electronic library in which collections are stored in electronic media formats as opposed print, microform, or other media and accessible via computers. One of the biggest areas for hardware and software development outside the traditional ILS, digital content management for libraries present itself as the newest moving target in library automation. Sometimes as simple as scanning a document for electronic course reverse, or as complex as state-of-the-art digital management, access, and preservations, the digital library movement is probably the most perplexing and promising development for libraries since library automation began almost seven decades ago. Though this subject is worthy of its own textbook , but its ironically, the paper library on digital libraries is a growing one. The more humble the aim of this work is to put digital libraries in the context of library-vendor and library-dot-com relationships. The aggregation of materials in a digital library can be greater than the sum of its parts. Digital libraries can assists, amplify, and to some...

Demand and Supply Curves

We have a certain commodity, `pure Malaysia Laptop’, whose market we are going to analyze. Assume that exogenous (external) forces are equal in magnitude, while supply–demand curves are unitary elastic. Given a certain event/scenario, (a) analyze the curve/s affected, shifts or movements and the direction, and (b) effect to equilibrium price (P*) and equilibrium quantity (Q*) Scenario 1 a. Prices of optical drives suddenly increase The production cost has increased so the supply decreases and eventually the price go up.The supply curve shifts to the left. b. A new market-standard operating system is released to the market but costs at least 50% higher than the previous edition This issue is considered another production cost so the supply curve shifts to the left. The supply decreases and price goes up. c. News spread that local laptops were contaminated with melamine Demand decreases because people buy less due to the news so the demand curve shifts to the left and the Q and P both decrease. d.Video chatting and internet-on-the-go become fad New technology makes people buy more of the product so demand increases and as a consequence the demand curve shifts to the right and price and quantity both increases. Scenario 2 a. China laptop manufacturers were permitted to enter the Malaysian market Cheaper products attract consumers, so the demand for our product decreases. The shift in the demand curve goes to left and the P and Q both decreases. b. Average desktop computer prices have plunged to all-time lowsIf desktop computers become cheaper the demand for laptops decreases so the demand curve shifts to left and eventually the P and Q decrease. c. New taxes were imposed to laptops sales (per unit tax) Imposing new taxes to laptops is additional cost for the production. so it affects the supply and the supply curve shifts to left. so the P increases and Q decreases. d. A recession/economic downturn cause the income of consumers to decline and cause t he prices of laptop parts to increaseWhen consumer’s income decreases, the demand goes down and the demand curve shifts to the left. On the other hand the prices of laptop parts increases and that makes the production costs to increase so the supply decrease and the supply curve shifts to left. So the quantity decreases while we have an ambiguous equilibrium price. Scenario 3 a. Biggest local laptop manufacturer suddenly become bankrupt and the government gives subsidy to consumers to purchase `educational and computer-literacy’ related goodsBy the biggest local laptop manufacturer going bankrupt, our company’s supply goes up and eventually the price goes up. The demand curve shifts to the left. So the Q decreases. b. New production techniques were adopted by local laptop manufacturer and prices of inputs in the production of desktop computer decline significantly When the prices for laptops decease the demand goes up and as a consequence the demand curve shifts to the right so the price and quantity increase.

Stereotypes and the Elderly - 1243 Words

In American society, it seems that we treasure youth and either fear or are disappointed to reach old age. Our culture has a big influence on how the elderly are perceived has stereotyped this population, mostly seen through the media. Even in films, TV, books, and magazines old people are often portrayed as frail, weak, klutzy, or indecisive. We should look treat our elderly with respect for the fact that they are more associated with experience, knowledge, and wisdom than a younger population. Ageism describes this discrimination against the old due to misconceptions and ignorance. Every person has their own perceptions of seniors and growing old. As an individual grows up, those perceptions are influenced by family, friends, and any†¦show more content†¦With all the different types of media around us, it doesn’t take much time to learn plenty about aging. Either seen as forgetful, cranky or decrepit, you have to think that these people are seeing the stereotype of themselves too. As older people watch TV, they are worsening their views of their own peer group. Our society needs to understand that when people are being grouped together like this and discriminated against, it can effect them emotionally and sometimes gets taken to heart. I think that some older people may even believe their own stereotypes about them themselves and thus live up to it. This doesn’t help the situation and just continues the cycle of their stereotype. When our culture put these views upon society it affects how we act and treat that part of our population. The number of people aged 65 and older is rising everyday. With the baby boomer population at hand, we need to better understand our elders. I’m sure there are a lot of people who never want to be â€Å"old† or be associated with â€Å"old people† and this can have an affect on their relationships with older people and therefore never understanding the truth behind old age. This is a meaningful exchange that gets ignored and so I believe continues to influence the minds of most Americans. I think we, especially the younger population, could learn a tremendous amount from our elderlyShow MoreRelatedLabeling Theory and Media Stereotypes of the Elderly Essay3301 Words   |  14 PagesLabeling Theory and Media Stereotypes of the Elderly Introduction Stereotypes have an overwhelming effect especially on the people they are directed towards. Studying stereotypes helps in understanding the factors leading to discrimination of certain people and not others. This is because stereotypes are depictive of opinions that are often passed from one generation to another within a particular culture. Mass media such as television and newspapers form a common source of opinions in the contemporaryRead MoreRhetoric and Stereotypes: Politicians, Tattooed People, Feminists, and Elderly People986 Words   |  4 PagesRhetoric and Stereotypes: Politicians, Tattooed People, Feminists, and Elderly People PHI 103: Informal Logic Rhetoric and Stereotypes: Politicians, Tattooed People, Feminists, and Elderly People Rhetoric pertains to the use of language to create an effectively persuasive argument. Stereotyping is taking the description of an individual and applying it to a group as a whole. There are many generalizations made when it comes to politicians, tattooed people, feminists, and elderly people. ThisRead MoreThe Quality Of Life And The Age Of An American1540 Words   |  7 PagesIn the article Challenging Aging Stereotypes Strategies for Creating a More Active Society, the authors tackle common misconceptions and stereotypes associated with aging. As our world of medicine continues to change and we experience advances in medical technology and treatments it is hard not to take notice of the fact that the older population is often overlooked for different treatments and preventative measures. The very reason for this is due to the stereotypes associated with an aging populationRead MoreEffects Of Priming On Social Perception990 Words   |  4 Pagesparticipants’ behavior on social perception. The researchers inferred that behavioral responses to stereotypes and attitudes should be capable of automatically activating if there are stimuli that can activate it. Experiments 2a and 2b hypothesized that participants who had been primed with the elderly stereotype would walk more slowly compared to participants who had not been primed with stereotype-relevant stimuli due to their mood being effected. The hypothesis given in experiments 2a and 2bRead MoreAmerica s Treatment Of The Elderly925 Words   |  4 Pagesperceived notion that Eastern societies view aging in a positive aspect, while Western societies view aging in a negative light. Although there is much emphasis on respect for elders on the Confucian societies, however, does East Asia’s treatment of the Elderly really differ from North America’s treatment? In the Perceptions of Aging in Two cultures: Korean and American views on Old Age, the authors are able to prove their thesis that through previous studies by Harwood et al that countries such as SouthRead MoreThe Lingering Effects of Stereotyping831 Words   |  3 PagesThe Lingering Effects of Stereotyping The Lingering Effects of Stereotyping The three stereotypes upon which the paper will focus are: women are untrustworthy; all White Americans are rich; and the elderly population is useless. The first stereotype is that women cannot be trusted. Often arguments to support this stereotype come from media representation in television, film, and otherwise. Women are often represented as liars who have intercourse outside of marriage or a relationship. Women areRead MoreChallenging Aging Stereotypes : Strategies For Creating A More Active Society Essay1548 Words   |  7 PagesIn Dr. Marcia Ory’s article titled Challenging Aging Stereotypes: Strategies for Creating a More Active Society, many common misconceptions about the elderly are presented and disputed, while also addressing the effect these stereotypes have on the elderly’s view of themselves and how it affects their physical wellbeing. Solutions to getting the older population active and engaged while taking care of their bodies are also presented. Thi s assessment provides a comprehensive breakdown of these topicsRead MoreA Summary And Critique Of This Article1450 Words   |  6 Pagesincrease in this elderly population pool. With an increase in longevity due to advances in medicine, there is a dire need to address this neglect to individuals after they reach a certain age. This should have been noticed before, but it is easier to see the problem now, as there are more people currently and expected to be impacted. There is a prevalence of having an ageist stereotypical mindset in our country as a whole, and this article depicts the negative impact of ageist stereotypes on health, functioningRead MoreNegatives Of Ageism1666 Words   |  7 Pageslabelled those that are over 65 as old. This is the retirement age. Younger people have gained twisted ideas about the aging process and harmful comments to go along with them. Many people have these negative stereotypes about older people because they do not know enough information abou t the elderly population, or they simply fear becoming old themselves and the possibility of death. When the fear of death is high this is called mortality salience (Barrow Hillier 2015). I believe that ageism is wrongRead MoreAging : More Than Their Stereotypes Essay1589 Words   |  7 PagesAging: More Than Their Stereotypes As people continue to live life and grow older, it is inevitable that they will age. Aging has many effects on an individual’s physical health, emotional well-being, and cognition. Key developmental changes occur in vision and hearing; both begin declining as people age (Weiten, 2014). The deterioration of these senses can be seen in Young@Heart during the scene where a few members are joking around in a car. The driver was Lenny, an ex-World War II pilot, because